Dancing on the golden ashes

I'm not sure how much time has passed since everything went black. All I remember is falling—endlessly falling.

Now, I'm lying on the cold, unyielding ground. Everything around me is shrouded in darkness, thick and oppressive. The only reprieve is a faint ray of light shining from somewhere far above me, barely piercing the void. It's weak, insufficient to illuminate this place.

Where am I?

I can't even tell what kind of place this is. Nothing feels familiar. Nothing feels real.

I try to move, but my body refuses to respond. Only my fingers twitch faintly, the smallest proof that I'm still alive. Beyond that, I'm trapped, my limbs as heavy as the oppressive air around me.

What happened to the others? Did anyone else survive?

The questions swirl in my mind, but no answers come. Just the cold, the darkness, and the faint, flickering light.

At least I'm still alive.

The thought repeated endlessly in my mind, a fragile comfort amid the pain. I tried to open my eyes fully, but they wouldn't budge. Only a thin sliver of my eyelid managed to lift before quickly closing again, as if it were a massive gate too heavy to be opened without help.

Every inch of my body burned with agony, each wound a fiery reminder of how close I had come to death. The pain was unbearable, raw and unrelenting. Is this what infection feels like? The thought crossed my mind, but I didn't want to dwell on it.

I probably don't have long...

My chest tightened with a different kind of pain. What about the others? Is anybody else alive?

I tried to move my neck, desperate to glance around, but the moment I attempted it, a tidal wave of pain crashed over me. My body screamed in protest, refusing to obey.

I was completely stuck. Trapped in my own broken shell, unable to move, unable to check if anyone else had survived.

The oppressive darkness pressed in on me, and for the first time, I wondered if this was how it would all end.

Time blurred as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Each moment felt like an eternity, and yet, it passed in an instant. My thoughts spiraled, tangled in regret and pain.

Perhaps I should have listened to the Goddess of Fire. Her words echoed faintly in my memory, a reminder of the path I had chosen to ignore. Perhaps I shouldn't have provoked those I couldn't defeat.

But no—thinking of someone important to me dying, and me being powerless to stop it, was unbearable. That wasn't the kind of person I could be. I refused to stand idly by, to become like the same people who had abandoned me.

Why is my life so tragic?

I couldn't help but envy those who had everything I had ever wanted—loving families, loyal friends, and the chance to experience love. I wanted that too. I wanted to know what it felt like to belong, to be cherished, to feel at peace.

But none of that would ever happen. Not now. Not for me. I could feel it, the grim truth settling in my chest like a heavy stone. I was likely going to die soon.

I just hope the others will be okay.

The thought lingered, my only solace as the darkness threatened to pull me under again.

You could say I've given up... perhaps. But who wouldn't? Who would keep struggling when their body is a complete mess, broken beyond repair?

If I had any strength left, I'd dig myself out of this pit, clawing through the pain and despair. But I didn't.

And yet… I'm a Death Eater. Doesn't that mean I'm supposed to fight against death itself? To rise above it? To be in control of my fate?

Or am I...

Something deep within me stirred, faint but undeniable. A flicker of power, like a fragile flame, gently washed over my shattered body.

For a brief moment, it felt like hope—a whisper of possibility against the crushing weight of defeat. But it wasn't enough. It couldn't ease the pain or mend my broken form. Stay tuned to empire

The flame flickered, and so did my consciousness. The agony surged, overwhelming me, and I slipped into the darkness once again.

When I woke up again, there was no more light. Only darkness enveloped me, shrouding me in its quiet, endless embrace.

Strangely, it felt comforting—this solitude, this void. Do I actually love the darkness? The thought crossed my mind, and for the first time, it didn't feel strange.

The embrace of the darkness felt like belonging, a feeling I rarely experienced in the harsh clarity of daylight. The sun always felt distant, casting me as a shadow beneath its brilliance, but here, in the void, I wasn't a shadow. I was whole.

Perhaps staying alone for so long has made me this way. Or maybe I had always been like this, and I simply hadn't realized it until now. From the moment I was born, perhaps the darkness was where I was meant to be.

"Anybody there?"

The voice echoed through the darkness, faint and distant, but unmistakably familiar. Seong-Hoon? The thought flickered in my mind, though doubt quickly followed. Maybe I was just imagining it, clinging to the fragile hope of not being alone.

The voice faded as quickly as it came, weak and fleeting, never to return.

I tried to respond, summoning every ounce of strength I had. "I'm here..."

The words barely escaped my lips, no louder than a whisper, swallowed by the oppressive darkness around me.

However, there was no response. Only silence followed, heavy and suffocating, slapping me with the cold, undeniable truth—I was on the brink of death.

Death... I wondered. How will you welcome me?

I had never believed in gods or the afterlife. Perhaps I should have. Maybe then, I wouldn't feel this hollow fear gnawing at the edges of my mind.

Wait... is it fear?

No. It wasn't fear of death itself. I wasn't afraid to leave this world behind. The thought of dying didn't terrify me.

What burned inside me instead was the realization of how much I still had left undone. So many dreams, so many promises I hadn't fulfilled.

I don't want to go yet.

The darkness around me seemed to agree, embracing me like an old friend, yet its comfort only deepened my resolve. I couldn't let it end like this.

I gave it another try, another desperate struggle, refusing to give up.

Dammit! Why won't you move, body? Why?! Just stand up!

But no matter how much I willed it, my body remained stubbornly unresponsive. My efforts only drained what little energy I had left, and the darkness closed in on me once again.

I slipped into a haze, drifting somewhere between consciousness and oblivion. Time lost all meaning here. How long has it been? Days? Weeks? Maybe even months or years. There was no way to tell in this endless void.

We're most likely underground, right? Even if the Goddess destroyed everything up there...

I tried to comfort myself with the thought. We'd survive here, wouldn't we?

But doubt crept in, insidious and unwelcome. Or am I just being naive?

The silence was deafening, and the uncertainty gnawed at me as I drifted further into the unknown.

Fuck!

Get up, damn it! Let this useless body of mine move!

Death is not my ending.

Even if it comes, I will face it. I will embrace it, hold it close like an old friend—and then stab it in the back. I refuse to die!

I will not let death claim me. Death is not some grand inevitability; it's a scavenger, circling the weak, preying on those who have already surrendered.

But I am not weak. I have not given up.

Death fears those who fight back. It cowers before those who refuse its grasp.

And if it refuses to let me live, then I will devour it. I will become death itself.

The fire within me burned brighter, fueled by my rage and determination. I would not surrender. I would rise again—no matter what it took.

In that moment, a warmth blossomed within my soul, spreading rapidly through every corner of my broken body.

The exhaustion that had consumed me, the weakness that had left me powerless, began to fade. My drained, battered form now felt alive again, as if the very essence of my being had reignited.

Power surged through me like a raging current, and with it, the darkness deep within my soul grew stronger, more vivid. It wasn't oppressive—it was empowering, a force I could feel resonating with every fiber of my existence.

My eyes, once heavy and unwilling to open, now shot wide with newfound strength. They glowed brilliantly, illuminating the pitch-black void around me, as though challenging the darkness itself.

I'm not done yet.

"[Welcome back to the World of No End Lee Gaon]"

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the darkness, shattering the fragile silence around me.

A voice I didn't want to hear.

It was him.

My heart sank, the newfound warmth in my soul momentarily faltering. The oppressive weight of his presence filled the void, and for a moment, it felt as though the air itself had been stolen.

Why now? Why him?

His tone was as haunting as ever, dripping with mockery and malice. The darkness around me seemed to twist and ripple in response, as if it, too, recognized him.

"[I have found you all. Your curiosity will be your doom.]"

The voice echoed through the darkness, cold and unforgiving, each word reverberating with an otherworldly power that sent chills down my spine.

"[This is my last warning.]"